Calif. police shoot man during sting

An armed man was shot by Fresno police officers Wednesday while the officers were attempting to arrest him and his two companions in a guns-for-drugs sting operation in central Fresno, police said.

The shooting occurred at the Days Inn Motel near Olive Avenue and Highway 99, Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer said. The man was shot after officers attempted to arrest the three, Dyer said. The first two complied, but the third, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, ran.

During the chase, the officer, who was not identified, feared for his life and fired at the suspect, striking him, Dyer said. The suspect was taken to University Medical Center with wounds that were not life-threatening.

All three of the men will be charged with narcotics and weapons violations, along with gang enhancements, he added.

Dyer said undercover officers came across the three men while investigating a gang-related homicide that happened about three weeks ago. Homicide officers, working with narcotics officers, learned that gang members were attempting to purchase machine guns to retaliate for the homicide.

The undercover officers met with the gang members, Dyer said, and agreed to provide the machine guns in exchange for the drugs PCP and methamphetamine, along with cash. The gang members met with police after they showed the officers that they had the drugs, Dyer said.